Interior

Two Fairbanks ordinances would loosen the cap on school district reserves

Fairbanks wants to loosen the cap on what its school district can bank. One ordinance would trim the rule, the other would kill it outright.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks weighs union labor agreements on its big construction projects

Fairbanks would require union-negotiated labor agreements on borough construction over $3.5 million, copying an Anchorage rule that warned it could raise costs.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Juneau staff recommend banning electric dirt bikes on all public property

Juneau staff recommend banning electric dirt bikes from all public property, citing safety concerns and comparing high-powered models to unlicensed motorcycles.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Troopers find missing hunter near Tanana after weather grounded search a day

Alaska Wildlife Troopers found a missing hunter near Tanana on Wednesday after weather grounded the search a day earlier. He declined medical treatment and returned to camp.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska DNR issues four land decisions for University of Alaska land grants

Alaska issued four land-transfer decisions in four days ahead of a December deadline, over unanimous opposition. At Medicine Lake, the opposition won.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

House subcommittee hears testimony on conveying 21,578 Denali acres to Doyon

Doyon selected a sacred rock formation in Denali as its own in 1978. Forty-eight years later, Congress is still deciding whether to hand it over.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

After the tow trucks left, one family could reach their own land

Fifty vehicles came off a half-mile of road in Big Lake. One family could finally drive to their own property. It took $42,000 and eleven dumpsters.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Sullivan diesel-derate bill advances Senate committee 10-9

A Senate panel advanced Sullivan's diesel-derate bill 10-9. It mandates cold-weather relief while EPA separately considers broader changes.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A hiring fair comes to the Fairbanks Job Center on Thursday

Job seekers can meet retail, grocery, restaurant and banking employers at a hiring fair Thursday at the Fairbanks Job Center, 11 am to 3 pm.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Alaska will clear Tok's fire debris free

Alaska will clear fire debris in Tok for free, but owners must sign a packet whose terms are final — and the form isn't posted where the state says it is.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

Both Alaska senators back advancing a federal NIL bill

Murkowski and Sullivan both voted to advance a federal college athlete pay bill. Alaska has no NIL law of its own, so federal rules would apply directly.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Mat-Su kept the Long Trail sign, and the $300,000 that came with it

Mat-Su took $300,000 and kept the trail sign some members worried would invite federal control. The borough's own attorney said it would not.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Van Horn Road is closed at University Avenue with no detour posted

an Horn Road is closed at University Avenue in Fairbanks for paving, with no detour and no reopening time. The state's alert can't decide which road is shut.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks woman, 68, fell from horse into Wood River and died; cause under investigation

Debra Waugaman Curnow, 68, of Fairbanks died Monday after falling from her horse while crossing the Wood River near Snow Mountain Gulch.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks flood maps are final. Borough page still points to appeals

Fairbanks' flood maps are final, but the borough still links to obsolete appeal instructions. The Jan. 8 maps change insurance and building rules.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Fairbanks gets new flood maps in January, and most homes in the zone are uninsured

Seventeen foreclosed Fairbanks properties sold, 25 drew no bid

Fairbanks sold 17 tax-foreclosed properties last month. One of them, assessed at $146,019, went for $12,120 — a hundred dollars over the minimum.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 28

Alaska Supreme Court declines emergency bid to open Fairbanks charter school

Fairbanks said no to a charter school. The state said yes anyway. The Supreme Court declined to referee, and 352 enrolled kids were left in limbo.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Jun 19

Federal board extends FM1106 subsistence moose hunt by two days

Federal officials added two days to a Copper Basin moose hunt and closed 1,300 square miles of Interior river corridors to outside hunters. One group objects.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks companies seek a year-round water right for the pool at Circle Hot Springs

Two Fairbanks companies want a year-round water right at Circle Hot Springs — about 8.6 million gallons a day, on an application pending since 2020.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A 2024 crash near Denali came down to windshear and a short strip

Federal investigators have explained a 2024 crash near Denali: windshear off a 600-foot strip, and no room to climb. The pilot walked away.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Denali opens 30 miles of road to private vehicles starting Friday

Starting Friday you can drive 30 miles into Denali, twice the summer limit — though snow and ice can shrink that stretch without much notice.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Troopers identify driver who left Ester street light crash

Alaska State Troopers identified a driver who knocked down a street light near Chena Ridge Road in Ester and left the scene without reporting the crash.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Anchorage coded most sampled spending to the wrong account, audit finds

Anchorage miscoded 72% of sampled spending, an audit found — because nobody ever wrote down what the city's accounting categories actually mean.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 13

Fairbanks votes Oct. 6 on capping taxes, moving elections and hand counts

Fairbanks voters decide Oct. 6 whether to cap borough taxes, move elections to November and count ballots by hand. Any of it locks for two years.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Flood watch warns Chena and Little Chena could top minor flood stage Wednesday

Half an inch to an inch of rain is landing on ground that is already soaked. The Little Chena is the river for Fairbanks to keep an eye on now.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Alaska proposes a new payment formula for its 24-hour behavioral health clinics

Alaska wants to change how it pays two clinics providing 24-hour behavioral health care, setting rates in advance. Public comment is open through Oct. 30.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks dense fog advisory expired at noon after visibility fell to 100 yards

Fog in Fairbanks got thick enough Monday that you could see about a hundred yards, and it did that an hour after the advisory was supposed to end.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

A road crew wants to camp in a gravel pit while it fixes the Elliott Highway

A contractor fixing 12 miles of the Elliott Highway wants to park 20 people in RVs on state gravel while it works. Comment closes Sept. 28.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

A free Juneau talk on how a manuscript becomes a book

Two editors from the press that publishes the University of Alaska's books will explain how a manuscript becomes a book, at a free Juneau talk Saturday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

A Doyon director steps off the board to lead its scholarship foundation

Geri Simon stepped down from the board of Doyon, Limited — Alaska's largest private landowner — to lead its scholarship foundation, leaving a seat to fill.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Crews dig out buried hotspot near Tok home as Mukluk Fire hits 70% containment

Weeks after the Mukluk Fire, crews dug a still-smoldering log out of the ground near a Tok home, and fire managers expect more buried heat.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: Mukluk Fire evacuation order shrinks to properties inside the burn near Tok

Four Yukon villages get money for broadband design, not construction

Four Yukon River villages are getting broadband drawings, not broadband. The trunk line they would connect to is now 17 months behind schedule.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

North Pole council advances 3% pay raise for city employees

North Pole advanced a 3 percent raise for city employees Tuesday after rejecting a push to delay it and hearing that employee trust in the council is low.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 8

Troopers airlift injured boater from Cosna River after capsizing en route to air ambulance

Alaska State Troopers airlifted an injured boater from the Cosna River on Sunday after the boat capsized while heading to an air ambulance pickup.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

Troopers say stolen truck hit dump truck head-on in North Pole

A truck troopers say was stolen hit a dump truck head-on in North Pole. The driver was arrested on theft and DUI charges, which are not findings of guilt.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Flood watches cover McGrath and Fairbanks as one storm moves across Alaska

Flood watches take effect Monday for McGrath and Tuesday for Fairbanks as a multi-day storm brings heavy rain and wind across Alaska through Saturday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Troopers arrest Fairbanks driver on DUI charge after Steese Highway stop

DUI arrest in the north

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Idaho firm that already runs the Alcan port wins its $48,169 snow removal order

An Idaho firm won a $48,169 federal task order to plow the Alcan border port near Tok. The same company already holds a $1.16 million contract to run operations and maintenance at the port and the Fairbanks Federal Building.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Katmai superintendent reports more bear cubs at Brooks Camp than in years

Katmai's superintendent says there are more bear cubs at Brooks Camp than in years, an observation with no published count behind it.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Fairbanks committee takes up Fairbanks Street rezone that could allow 51 units on 13 lots

Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly Committee discusses rezoning 13 Fairbanks Street lots to allow up to 51 housing units instead of 25, driven by a vacant former bed and breakfast.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read